George Balanchine

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George Balanchine was one of the 20th century's most prolific choreographers. Styled as the father of American ballet, he took the standards and technique from his education at the Imperial Ballet School and fused it with other schools of movement that he had adopted during his tenure as a guest choreographer on Broadway and in Hollywood, creating his signature "neoclassical style". He was invited to America in 1933, by a young arts patron named Lincoln Kirstein who shared Balanchine's attitude regarding the importance of high quality dance training in America and together they founded the School of American Ballet, that has since grown into one of the foremost dance academies in the United States and the world, respectively. Along with Kirstein and Jerome Robbins, he co-founded the New York City Ballet and remained its balletmaster for more than 35 years, alongside Mr. Robbins as co-founding choreographer. He was a choreographer known for his musicality; he expressed music with dance and worked extensively with leading composers of his time like Igor Stravinsky.